The present invention relates generally to the field of medical diagnostic and imaging systems. More particularly, the invention relates to interactive servicing of such systems, such as via remote service facilities, in which system configurations, image data and other files, protocols, service requests, reports and other useful information can be exchanged interactively between a remote service facility and the diagnostic system.
Medical diagnostic and imaging systems are ubiquitous in modem health care facilities. Such systems provide valuable tools for identifying, diagnosing and treating physical conditions and greatly reduce the need for surgical diagnostic intervention. In many instances, final diagnosis and treatment proceed only after an attending physician or radiologist has complemented conventional examinations with detailed images of relevant areas and tissues via one or more imaging modalities.
Currently, a number of modalities exist for medical diagnostic and imaging systems. These include computed tomography (CT) systems, x-ray systems (including both conventional and digital or digitized imaging systems), magnetic resonance (MR) systems, positron emission tomography (PET) systems, ultrasound systems, nuclear medicine systems, and so forth. In many instances, these modalities complement one another and offer the physician a range of techniques for imaging particular types of tissue, organs, and physiological systems and phenomena. Health care institutions often dispose of several such imaging systems at a single or multiple facilities, permitting its physicians to draw upon such resources as required by particular patient needs.
Modem medical diagnostic systems typically include circuitry for acquiring image data and for transforming the data into a useable form which is then processed to create a reconstructed image of features of interest within the patient. The image data acquisition and processing circuitry is often referred to as a xe2x80x9cscannerxe2x80x9d regardless of the modality, because some sort of physical or electronic scanning often occurs in the imaging process. The particular components of the system and related circuitry, of course, differ greatly between modalities due to their particular physics and data processing requirements.
Medical diagnostic systems of the type described above are often called upon to produce reliable and understandable images within demanding schedules and over a considerable useful life. To ensure proper operation, the systems are serviced regularly by highly trained personnel who address imaging problems, configure and calibrate the systems, and perform periodic system checks and software updates. Moreover, service offerings have been supplemented in recent years by remote service centers capable of contacting scanners at subscribing institutions directly without the need for intervention on the part of the institution personnel. Such remote servicing is intended to maintain the diagnostic systems in good operational order without necessitating the attention of physicians or radiologists, and is often quite transparent to the institution.
While such service techniques have proven extremely valuable in maintaining diagnostic systems, further improvements are still needed. For example, in conventional service systems, contact between the scanners and a centralized service center most often originates with the service center. The scanners are provided with only limited functionality in the ability to identify and define service needs. Even where the scanners have permitted some limited ability to contact networked service providers, intermittent conditions indicative of a potentially serviceable problem may cease by the time the service provider is contacted or recontacts the scanner after a service call. Moreover, although the transparency of interactions between scanners and service centers avoids unnecessarily distracting medical personnel with service updates, it has become apparent that some degree of interaction between service centers and institutions would be highly desirable. In particular, an interactive service system would facilitate valuable exchanges of information, including reports of system performance, feedback on particular incidents requiring attention, updates of system licenses, software, imaging protocols, and so forth. Currently available service systems do not permit such interactive exchanges.
In addition to the foregoing drawbacks, conventional scanners are not suitably adapted to support user-friendly, scanner-based service exchanges. User interfaces in such scanners typically only permit limited access to service information, and do not provide a particularly useful interface for identifying and defining serviceable conditions as they occur. Moreover, software platforms and interfaces in conventional scanners are not suitable for interaction with service centers, and generally exclude the user from communications between the scanner and the service center or, conversely, impose unnecessarily on the user by requiring intervention for certain service functions such as software updates or downloads. Furthermore, platforms have yet to be developed that can serve as a basis for interactive servicing needs of different modalities. Rather, such platforms have traditionally been specifically designed for the needs of a particular modality or even a particular scanner with little cross utility between systems or modalities.
While improvements in diagnostic stations has been made for certain modalities, these are still insufficient to satisfy the current need. For example, graphical user interfaces are available for specific modality scanners, such as ultrasound scanners, which enable software downloads and remote access to images. The remote access features are, however, generally limited to transmitting image configurations and image data for reconstruction between remote physician workstations and the scanner. At present, available systems do not provide for exchanging information on possible service problems with the scanners, or information or data log files for the purpose of providing remote service of the scanner itself.
There is presently a need for an interactive service technique which can be implemented with a wide variety of medical diagnostic equipment of various manufacture, type, modality and configuration. There is a particular need at present for a modular-type system which can be provided on new and existing diagnostic systems. The need is particularly presented by systems that are already in service or will be placed in service, and are not otherwise equipped with interactive service platforms, interfaces, and so forth.
The present invention provides a modular service system designed to respond to these needs. The system enables an interactive user interface to be added to a wide variety of system types, while providing a generally uniform service platform. The modular system may take the form of an add-on module which can be associated with a system scanner, for example, or may be embodied in a computer or work station associated with a single or a plurality of diagnostic systems. The modular service system enables service requests to be formulated, and service data to be exchanged interactively with a remote service facility or service unit. The modular system interfaces with the diagnostic system by identifying and locating data files needed to provide the desired service. The files may include image data, both raw and processed, as well as error logs, system configuration data, and so forth. Where necessary, the data may be processed by the service system, such as to prune, convert, compress and otherwise treat the data for transfer to a service server and therethrough to a remote service facility. The data handling modules provided in the system may be adapted and upgraded from time to time to accommodate new or different system types, manufacturers, software and hardware configurations, and so forth.